Residents in the southern section of The Villages have demanded a change to the anonymous complaint system.
Community Development District 13 residents have been expressing their dissatisfaction with the anonymous complaint system, but the CDD 13 Board of Supervisors has been unable to respond to residents’ concerns. The enforcement of deed restrictions is still under the Developer and the CDD 13, under state statute, has not yet met the threshold in which it takes over enforcement of deed restrictions.
However, recognizing the passionate feelings that CDD 13 residents have about anonymous complaint, the Developer elected to yield to the CDD 13 board the decision about the future of anonymous complaints.
CDD 13 includes the villages of Bradford, Cason Hammock, Citrus Grove, Chitty Chatty, Hawkins, Richmond, St. Catherine and St. Johns as well as parts of DeLuna and Hammock at Fenney. There are 8,062 homes in CDD 13, which covers 2,231.8 acres.
The CDD 13 board met Thursday afternoon at Everglades Recreation Center and heard from residents who were both for and against anonymous complaints.
Dennis Holloway of the Village of Cason Hammock said he was aware of a case in which the bitterness over anonymous complaints had been fatal.
“The guy died of a heart attack,” Holloway said. “This is supposed to be a retirement community. The stress is killing people.”
John Dicioccio of the Village of St. Catherine said many residents are worried about being required to provide their name when making a complaint because they have a “fear of retribution.”
Carol Wilfey of the Village of DeLuna said single residents like herself would be hesitant to lodge complaints if the anonymity was removed.
However, the majority of people who lined up at the podium spoke out against residents who use the anonymous complaints to harass neighbors.
In the end, the board asked for a show of hands. The majority of residents indicated they wanted a system in which those lodging complaints cannot remain anonymous and must provide a unit/lot number so their residency in CDD 13 can be verified.
The change should be effective Aug. 18.